Godly

Godly
Chapter 9: Rise of the changeling kingdom Part 3

"Cadence!" Luna says and pulls the pink alicorn into a hug.

"Auntie!" Cadence yells and hugs her back. "What art thou doing here!?" she then demands.

"Thou hast... you have seen my sister getting more aggressive lately correct?" Luna replies with her own question.

"Yes. She was very upset this morning and stormed off back to Equestria after trying to move the sun," Cadence replies. "Was that due to what Carl hast done?" she then asks.

"Verily. Carl hast... has put the sun and moon back the way they were before my sister and I ascended," Luna tells her with a sigh.

"What?" she asks confused.

"I made the sun and moon orbit the planet on their own again," I tell her and finish off my salad.

"Why?" she asks still confused.

I explain the dangers of having two individuals in constant control of them could have if they died or even used them to threaten other nations or races.

"Also, this will hopefully show Celestia she can't use the sun against me," I finish explaining and take my cup and bowl to the counter. "Now then. I have to help finish the keep so I'll be on the surface if you need to find me to send you home," I tell Cadence.

"Very well, we've been looking forward to seeing Chrysalis' Hive for a while now anyway," she replies and starts talking to Luna.

I make my way back topside and see Chrysalis has already started laying freshly cut floorboards on the ground.

"Looking good, Chryssi," I say getting her to look at me.

"Carl. You ready to get back to work?" she asks me with a smile.

"You bet. Oh, also Cadence is here. She's talking with Luna and will only be here for a few hours before I send her back," I reply and tell her.

"Cadence is here!?" she asks and gallops off into the Hive.

I chuckle as do a few of the other changelings. I help with placing the boards while the changelings process the trees into more boards and sending the remains to the forges for fuel. I'm going to need to start making nails out of iron soon as I don't know how effective the changeling resin will hold the boards together or for how long.

After what felt like an hour or two, the changelings suddenly stop working and stare out to the west. I frown and after looking at a few of them, follow their gaze to see a changeling flying towards us, except this one has a red coloured shell and eyes.

Chrysalis' changelings get defensive and Chrysalis with her armed guards come out ready to fight.

"What's going on?" I ask her confused. I thought Chrysalis' Hive was the last one?

"I'm not sure, but if there's other changelings then that means we aren't the only ones left," she replies.

"That's a good thing right?" I ask her.

"Not necessarily. The Queen of another hive might take over another to claim their stores of love and or drones while killing the Queen," she tells me.

"Jeez. Why would changelings do that when there's not many of you left?" I ask her with worry. I got enough to worry about with Celestia and the Equestrians right now to start worrying about other possible threats.

"It's because of what Celestia has done to us that we've resorted to such desperate actions. The last hive I know of were Queen Gillia's to the east. But when they attacked us, I retaliated and killed her. Her Hive then died out after that," she tells me. "But what has me worried is why only one changeling was sent here..."

I change into Khepri and stay beside Chrysalis. The changeling finally arrives and lands a good twenty feet away.

"My Queen has sent me here to find the Love Maker," the changeling demands in a female tone.

I couldn't help but do a double take and choke on a lungful of air. "*Cough cough* The who?" I ask confused. I know nearly all the changelings here and none are named Love Maker...

"I think she means you," Chrysalis tells me.

"Me?" I say in confusion, I then turn to the changeling. "Why do you want to speak with me?" I ask her.

"Our Hive is dying and our scouts reported an impossibly large source of love here. Even now I can sense it below us," she replies getting Chrysalis' changelings to hiss at her aggressively.

"Hmmm. Would she be willing to come here?" I ask her getting a shocked gasp from Chrysalis.

"What are you thinking!?" she says angrily.

"We may be able to help each other out. If they're willing to help defend us, then I'll supply them with a large amount of liquid love for them as payment," I say as the gears in my head start turning.

Maybe I can get other Hives to come here and build up our numbers. I'll have to keep an eye on the Queens as I don't want them fighting one another, but I think we can rebuild the changelings from the ground up into its own kingdom or nation.

The real question is can I feed that many by myself... The amount I make for Chrysalis' Hive right now is enough to give them three months of surplus in storage and that's for around a thousand changelings to live on. I know I wouldn't be able to feed more than ten-thousand, and that's making more hearts non-stop.

"No. You will be coming back with me, or we'll just attack this Hive and take all the love it has," the changeling demands with a frown.

I glare at the changeling and walk up to her. I tower over her and she flinches back slightly but holds her ground.

"You are in no position to demand anything," I tell her and get right in her face, my two large blue gem like eyes boring into hers. "Either your Queen comes to me to discuss a trade, or your Hive can starve. And before you think you can attack us, I can and will destroy any force you bring, then I'll kill your Queen for ordering the attack. I put Princess Celestia in her place when she tried to kill me, what do you think you can do to me?" I tell her coldly.

She looks shocked but then glances at Chrysalis before looking back at me.

"We don't make deals with other Hives... it's been that way for a hundred years," she tells me sternly.

"Times change. What's more important? A poor, sad excuse of a way of life that was forced upon you, or a chance to rise up and become a united people again? There is strength in numbers, especially when you have a god watching over you," I reply with my own stern tone.

"What god?" she asks with a confused frown.

"That would be my mate here," Chrysalis tells her and stands beside me.

"You? A god?" she says in a disbelieving tone.

I change into Ra and grin. "Everyone stand back please," I tell our changelings and they back up leaving the red changeling looking worried.

I raise my staff and cast my Celestial Beam ability, the sun eagerly responds and fires a beam of sunlight in front of the changeling making her yelp and try to run backwards. I make the beam go around her and she stops running, to which I cancel the beam, leaving a trail of scorched earth.

"Yes, a god," I then tell her and change back into Khepri and get in her face again. "Still want to threaten me and my home?" I ask her.

She quickly shakes her head.

"Good. Now tell your Queen that if she wants anything from me, she should come here herself. And she has my word she won't be harmed as long as she is civil and respectful," I tell her.

"I-I'll tell my Queen," she replies and quickly flies away.

"Are you sure this is a good idea... ever since we were fractured, no Queen has gotten along with another. Too much distrust and worry of the other betraying you," Chrysalis tells me.

"If she tries anything, then I'll just restrain her. If I can't, then I'll have to kill her. I won't let her or anyone else hurt you or the Hive," I reply as I watch the changeling fly out of sight.

I hope in her panic she took a direct line back to her hive. That way I have an idea in which way to go should I need to retaliate.

"Why is it that everything has gotten so much more complicated since we found you?" Chrysalis asks me with a mock frown.

I just shrug my two front legs. "Maybe that's just what happens when a balance of power changes. It causes a ripple that could either be good, like your Hive thriving again. Or bad that others begin to notice and want what you got," I reply and sigh. "Let's get the first floor of the keep done so when this Queen does or if she arrives, it'll be secure," I say and change back into Hercules.

Chrysalis also sighs and helps get to work setting the floorboards into place.

It doesn't take long for Cadence and Luna to come out of the Hive's entrance and the little pink alicorn gawks at the half built keep.

"Thou weren't joking about preparing for a battle..." she says and frowns sadly. "We hope our aunt dost not attack thee. But if she does, the Crystal Empire shall aid thee in thy defence," the pink alicorn tells us resolutely.

"Thank you. I hope she's smart enough to leave us alone as well, but if she finds out Luna is here, then she may think we abducted her... I didn't think that one through," I reply and facepalm with my left hand.

"Oh... right," Luna says as she also didn't think about that it seems.

"We recommend writing Celestia a letter, maybe a gem recording stating thou art okay and not to worry about thee. We can send them to her with our magic," Cadence says and then glares at me. "We art not amused thou hast blocked auntie Luna's magic, Carl," she then tells me.

"It is just a precaution, Miss Grumpy. Once she's earned our trust, we'll remove the resin," I reply. "I take it you're ready to go back now?" I ask her.

She huffs but nodded. "Verily. We hast stayed long enough to know the situation from both aunt Luna and Chrysalis," she tells me.

"Alrighty then," I say and change into Janus. I open a portal on the side of the Keep to her Throne Room. "I hope your day goes well, Cadence," I tell her.

"We thank thee. We wish thee all a good day as well," she says and quickly gives Chrysalis and Luna a final hug. "Please stay safe," she tells them.

"We will, Cadence," Chrysalis replies and with that, Cadence returns to her Empire.

"Well now," I say getting everyone's attention. "Let's get the first floor done before sundown."

The changelings cheer and pick up their pace.

Sundown slowly approaches like it naturally should as Chrysalis and I lay in our little garden. I'm Khepri again and I can't help but smile seeing Grover still standing there as a normal tree. I wonder, will he reform again like he did when I first changed to Sylvanus, or will he reanimate here? Personally I hope it's the former.

"What's going to happen to us?" Chrysalis asks with uncertainty.

"That depends. If Celestia attacks us, I will do everything in my power to push her back with a thorough spanking and decimate her forces so she can't attack again. With this new Queen? I'm hoping I can get all the changelings together under one banner. A changeling kingdom so to speak to rival any race," I reply and barely smirk as my lips are hard to move.

"You really believe you can get the other Queens to work together?" she asks me, clearly suggesting it won't happen.

"Some might not want to. But surely there are a few out there that would see the benefits of such a thing," I tell her.

"Maybe... We'll just have to wait and see how this new Queen will react," she says and leans against me.

I look towards the setting sun and frown. I can only hope everything works out in the end.

The next morning.

We're up early and the first floor of the keep is done. We've added a gate in front of the Hive's entrance as well as two armed and armoured guards now constantly guarding it.

There's a crude table and mossy cushions around it in the left room which will be the armoury later, but for now it'll do for what we'll need it for. I've had a few pods of liquid love brought up and placed into the small storage room not only to show we have it, but should we need it if a fight breaks out, it's within close proximity.

Looking at the cushions, I wonder if I can make silk ones using Arachne's webbing? Problem is, I don't know how to spin silk... Oh well, I guess we can find someone in the Empire to do that for us or teach some changelings.

"Now we wait," I say as we stand outside looking to the west.

"I'm still against this," Chrysalis tells me.

"And if she decides to attack, you can say you told me so and rip her apart if you want. With all the love you've got, you'll be much stronger right?" She nodded in reply. "But for now, I'd rather increase our numbers and our military strength," I say and look at what we've done so far.

The wall is completed and covered in resin. The gates are being constructed with the spare trees we have left over and I see the first gate is actually completed and covered in resin as well. Ten changelings use their magic to levitate it off the ground slowly and carefully carry it over to the northern archway.

Turning my gaze to the keep, changelings have started to apply resin to the outer walls. Still needs to have the double doors made and put in though.

Chrysalis looks to the west and frowns. "They're here," she tells me and I look over the horizon.

I see about thirty changelings coming and I frown as well. It can't be an attack force, too few to really fight us. Is she that cautious that she needs so many guards? Or perhaps just meat shields so she can escape if things go south?

"Let's prepare for our guests shall we?" I say and check myself over. My chitin is shiny and polished as well as the gold adorning my body.

"The moment she tries to harm any of my changelings, I will kill her," Chrysalis tells me seriously.

"By all means, do so if she does try to hurt anyone," I reply.

It takes the red changelings about tens minutes to arrive as a few fly around our wall first before the rest came in.

I look at the Queen as she touches down and compare her to Chrysalis. Her hair and tail look more... fuller, is all I can think of as it looks thicker and shorter than Chrysalis' flatter and longer hair.

She also looks like Chrysalis when I first met her, holes in her legs and ribs showing through her chitin. She also has a three slash scar across the left side of her barrel, looks like something with claws had a go at her.

"Welcome. My name is Carl, may I have yours?" I introduce myself and ask her.

She looks me over for a few seconds and narrows her eyes. "What are you?" she asks and slowly inches closer but stays wary.

"You'll have to be more specific. Are you asking what I am as a species? Or are you asking what I am as a being?" I reply.

She growls quietly and glares at me. "Are you making a fool of me?" she warns me and her changelings tense up.

"He's the god of the changelings," Chrysalis tells her still with her frown.

"My drone told me he called himself a god, and I don't believe a word of it. The alicorns arrogantly call themselves goddesses. Discord is the only being I would call a god as he could bend reality itself to his whim, and the alicorns needed colourful stones to defeat him. I heard they keep his petrified body as a trophy at their castle," she replies sternly before looking more angry.

"So, if you think just because you have these fools believing you to be a god and calling yourself one, that you are one?" she asks me while getting more and more aggressive. Chrysalis hisses at her for the comment made at her Hive and changelings.

"I don't need you to believe me or not. I know what I can do, and what I have done is help bring this Hive back from the poor condition it was in. If you haven't noticed, Chrysalis is no longer in your current condition and her Hive is thriving without resorting to kidnapping others to feed anymore. Now then, you wanted to talk to me? Then tell me your name and say what you wanted to say," I reply a bit more pissed off than I should have.

She huffs and glares at me defiantly. "I am Queen Dragana of the Crimson Hive. We have recently discovered you have a large supply of love stockpiled and I'm here to demand you give us all of it," she tells me seriously.

I just stare at her before laughing right in her face making her snarl angrily. "Haaahahahaa! Surely you're joking? You haven't brought enough soldiers to even take a cupful from us. What makes you think we'd just give you what we worked hard for months to make because you told us to?" I tell her now perfectly serious myself.

"I have two-thousand of my changelings waiting for my order to assault this hive," she replies with a smirk.

My eyes widen and, with a speed that belies my size, I dash forward and grip her neck in the single small pincer on my left front leg.

She gasps and her changelings move to attack me, but our changelings and Chrysalis use their magic to quickly restrain them to the ground.

"Choose your next words carefully, Dragana. For they may be your last," I tell her and pull her face in front of mine. "You may have a large force of hungry and weakened changelings, who by the way, wouldn't get here in time to save you. While we have a small force of well armed and fully fed changelings and a fully fed Queen, not to mention myself as well," I say and glare at her. "So tell me, what made you think you were in any position to demand anything? Surely the changeling you sent yesterday told you what I could do with the sun correct?" I ask her and lessen my grip to let her speak.

She gasps and struggles to break free, but I don't budge an inch. "Even if I die, my drones will wipe you all out," she says angrily.

"Then a demonstration is in order," I tell her and spread my wings.

I hover a good fifty feet into the air. I then look around and barely spot a few red changelings hiding behind some dunes and large rocks out in the badlands. Nowhere near as many as she said there was, barely over a hundred.

Just as Ra can use the sun, so too can Khepri. He's not called The Dawn Bringer for nothing. I channel my energy and connect with the sun and with sheer willpower, I fire a solar flare next to some of the changelings while making Dragana watch.

The intense beam of sunlight impacts the large rock within a second and instead of just a flash of light like in the game, the rock explodes and sends the hiding changelings in all directions. She gasps and struggles in my grip making me look at her.

'She either wants to flee now, or she actually cares about her changelings,' I think to myself and wrap my back and middle legs around her barrel and legs while my pincer grips her horn.

"Now then, are you willing to be civil, or continue being an arrogant tyrant? You're starting to remind me of Celestia a little with your attitude," I tell her making her cease struggling.

"Fine! Just stop attacking my children!" she yells and I can see tears starting to form.

"Very well, I'm going to let you go now. Don't fly away and return to our keep. You have ten minutes to check on your changelings, and if any are injured, we can give them some liquid love to help heal them," I tell her and let her go.

She quickly bolts off towards her changelings and I remain in the air to watch her. She goes around checking each one that was blown away and it seems three are hurt. I did try to only blow them back, but not all plans work how you want them to I guess.

After eight or nine minutes, she flies back towards us and I lower myself to the ground. She lands in front of me with a frown on her face.

"So what will you have of me?" she asks me, holding back her anger.

"Are you willing to discuss a possible trade and offer that will benefit both of us?" I ask her back.

She glares at me and then speaks up. "You mean the trade of our aid against Celestia in return for love?"

"That, and the offer of living here and becoming part of a new rising kingdom of changelings. No need to scrounge for love anymore, no need to take others to feed anymore, no need to hide in fear anymore, and no need to fight each other anymore," I reply.

"And what of a mate? I still need a male to breed with," she tells me, her frown still on her face but it's slowly fading.

"Carl is mine and mine alone, don't even think of claiming him," Chrysalis tells Dragana coldly.

Dragana narrows her eyes at Chrysalis before looking back at me.

"How have you been breeding so far then?" I ask.

"I have a minotaur bull sedated in my Hive, and I take his seed when I'm ready to lay my next clutch," she replies.

"So I take it he's not a willing mate?" I then ask.

"Of course not. Not since Celestia's propaganda has any male of another race taken interest in a changeling Queen in fear of being drained of all their emotions. Besides, he and his group tried to destroy our Hive, so we took them for feeding and breeding," she tells me with a scoff.

Hmmm. If they tried to destroy them, then they brought their fate upon themselves. "Fine, but anyone else you have you will have to release," I tell her making her go wide eyed.

"You want me to release our only source of love we have!?" she yells angrily.

I just groan and roll my eyes. "Did you forget that I can feed you all already?" I tell her with a deadpan stare.

Her frown completely fades and she sighs and looks down in thought. "To be honest, if it wasn't for the fact I can feel all that love nearby, I would be calling you a liar..." she tells me and looks up at me with a tired expression. "I can barely remember the time before the exile. My siblings and my mother walking among the minotaurs freely without any need to disguise ourselves as them...

"My father was a bull named Wildheart Longhorn. He and my mother were together for thirty years before he died in a battle with another tribe... it was five years after that when Celestia spread her lies and made the minotaurs second guess us and chased many of us away... while killing the rest," she tells me.

Chrysalis' glare softens a little, I guess from having similar circumstances.

"It's been a very long time since then and I've done what I had to to ensure the survival of my Hive," she then says.

"Then you can see my offer is the best bet you have to ensure your Hive's survival right?" I ask her.

She frowns and looks at Chrysalis. "And which Queen will rule the Hive? I will not bow to another Queen," she replies.

"None. Every Queen shall be equal and all will have a say in what happens. But I will reject any ideas that will harm the kingdom in any way without question," I tell her.

"So really, you'll be the one with the last word," she says unhappily.

"I guess so. I am the one working to help build this kingdom with ideas not yet seen before from my world. I am the one using my energy to make the love you'll all feed from. I provide fresh clean water for drinking and bathing in. Right now, I'm the one keeping Chrysalis' Hive alive," I tell her and sigh. "You're free to go back to your Hive and continue living the way you have, but if you do so, you will leave us alone or you'll have me to deal with."

She looks down in thought again and frowns.

"Here, see for yourself what we have to offer," I say and look to the changeling guard next to me. "Chameleon, go get a cup of liquid love for Dragana here please," I ask him.

"Alright," he replies and walks off into the keep. So much for using the room we set up...

Dragana looks at me with narrowed eyes. "So you want to entice us with promises and free love for servitude?" she asks me angrily.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to enslave or control you, I just want to bring the changelings back together. Being under the same banner and helping each other, we could be even greater than the Equestrians someday," I reply getting annoyed at her constant accusations.

"And how do I have any guarantees that you'll keep your word?" she asks me.

"You don't. But when Chrysalis here abducted me months ago, I could have killed her and destroyed her Hive when I broke free. But instead, I gave them a chance and in return, they gave me a home. And now months later, I have a mate who loves me as I do her, and I do all I can to help her and her Hive not just survive, but grow and thrive," I reply getting Chrysalis to happily lean against me.

I glance at Chrysalis and see her smiling at me. "It's true. He could have killed us and left, but he showed us something we've been denied of for a century. Compassion and kindness," Chrysalis tells her. "And while I personally don't like having another Queen near us... I will trust my mate for now, he has done nothing but help us and I will help him in turn. Besides, I want our kind to rise up and show Celestia how wrong she is,"

I smile as much as my lips will allow me to and raise my right front and middle legs up and around her in a quick hug.

Dragana looks between us a few times and Chameleon returns with the cup of liquid love. He levitates it in front of Dragana who takes it with her magic and eyes it with both a look of thirst and hesitation.

After a few seconds, her stomach rumbling is enough to make her close her eyes and gulp down the drink quickly. I have to resist the urge to yell chug chug chug so badly.

Her eyes snap open and glow slightly as her legs give out and she drops the now empty cup. I smirk a little as a few holes in her legs close up.

"So? What do you say to my offer?" I ask her and she looks up at me with a crazed look.

"More..." she says and I raise an eyebrow at her. Chrysalis wasn't like this when she had her first drink of liquid love.

"And you'll get more. But first, what is your answer?" I ask her.

"Fine! We'll join this kingdom of yours! Just feed my Hive and I'll do anything!" she replies making me shocked at her sudden change in attitude.

"Are you alright?" I ask her worriedly.

She closes her eyes and calms herself down. "Yes... It's just, that one cup was what I get in a month... and if you can provide more for my Hive and myself... then I would be blind to turn down such an offer..." she replies and shakily stands back up.

"Alright then. Go back to your Hive and bring back anything you wish to take with you. Just release anyone you have captive, but you can keep the minotaur that tried to kill you as long as you don't sedate him anymore. I'd also like to talk to him," I tell her making her frown.

"Remember, you won't need to take others to feed anymore. I'm letting you keep the minotaur because he tried to kill you, think of it as imprisonment for attempted murder," I then say making her sigh.

"Fine, they'll be released near their homeland with some water," she replies and turns around.

Before she takes off, I speak up. "Before you go, take two pods of liquid love back to your Hive as a show of good faith. It'll also help your changelings in getting here in better condition," I tell her and turn to some of our changelings. "Please bring two pods out," I tell them.

"Yes, my King," they both reply and I shake my head. I know Chrysalis just told them to call me that in front of Dragana with her hive mind, I know it.

It takes only a couple of minutes to carry out two large pods filled with life giving fluid. I chuckle as I see Dragana drool a little at the sight of them.

"I... am not sure what to say..." Dragana says and levitates both of the pods in her magic.

"Thank you would be a start," I say cheerfully. This has turned out as well as I could have hoped for.

"I have not said that to anyone outside my Hive for decades... but, thank you," she replies and bows slightly to me which I return.

With that, she takes off with her changelings and I turn to Chrysalis.

"Well, I say that went well. Now let's continue with the keep. I'll go down to the forge and see how the apprentices are doing, hopefully we can get more blades made at least for the possible battle ahead," I tell her getting a nuzzle in reply.

"Okay. I'll see you in a few hours then," she says and I head into the Hive.